Leaving Cert 2012: Students positive about Higher Level History paper

THIS afternoon's Higher Level History paper received a very positive reaction from students at the Institute of Education on Dublin's Leeson Street, with many predicted questions appearing on the paper.

THIS afternoon's Higher Level History paper received a very positive reaction from students at the Institute of Education on Dublin's Leeson Street, with many predicted questions appearing on the paper.

"The Anglo Irish Treaty came up under Northern Ireland which was a really easy question too.

"There were some questions I found difficult like characteristics of Stalin's rule in Russia but you were able to avoid them."

Colm Corcoran (18) from Harold's Cross was also pleased.

"The paper was really nice, all the questions were pretty broad. I did the American civil rights question which was a really sweeping question taking in a lot. We hedged our bets on the document question and thankfully India came up. Hopefully I'll take a decent grade out of it".

Karen Dunleavy (18) from Cabinteely added: "It was a great paper. There was a question on the Holocaust which has never come up before, and it was an easy question. There was also a really broad question on the use of physical force which meant you could pull in stuff from the rising and the civil war to the troubles in Northern Ireland. The India document question was predicted and I'm really hoping for an A1".

Finn Hatherell from Kildare said: "It was a nice paper overall. The Irish questions were a bit too broad, and it phased me for a little as to know what to do. The American question was nice as was the Northern Ireland one on Coleraine. I thought the comparative part of the document question was a bit difficult to understand.

Meanwhile, the Ordinary Level Paper also gained a positive response from students.

Drey Cahill (17) said: "All round I thought it was an easy enough paper. I liked that the Nuremburg rallies came up because I had that studied but I didn't like the key personalities question as I hadn't got it prepared well enough. I think I did pretty well in it overall though".

The biggest challenge for Leaving Certificate Higher Level students today was managing their time, according one teacher.

“Students were drawn to a wide range of questions on the exam, which is the mark of a good paper,” said the teacher from the Institute of Education

Given the events of the week candidates were probably very happy with the question recalling the Eucharistic Congress 1932, the last time the religious celebration was held in Ireland.